A feminist strike against unpaid care work – Invitation to an online event

14 June marks the annual feminist day of strike and action in Switzerland, which has already seen huge demonstrations in some years. As it fell on a Sunday this year, the organisers chose to focus on unpaid labour. The issue of how this work is distributed between the sexes, the conditions under which it is carried out, and the dramatic consequences of this distribution are being addressed. Furthermore, the strikers are drawing demands from this situation. The Zurich Feminist Strike Collective, for example, highlighted three demands in its opening speech at the local demonstration: “We demand a reduction in working hours to 25 hours per week, with full pay and without an increase in work intensity. We demand free healthcare for all! We demand the socialisation of housing. These are the three key points we are calling for so that care can be placed at the heart of society.”

Next year, on 14 June 2027, strikes in both paid and unpaid care work are to be brought together to move closer to securing these key demands through a major general strike in the care sector: “And if these demands are not met, we – and that means all care workers – will go on strike on 14 June 2027. In a year’s time, the whole of Switzerland will come to a standstill – because things cannot go on like this, and without care work, nothing works at all.”

The full speech can be found on the website of the Zurich Feminist Strike Collective. There is plenty more to discover there, including further speeches and a wealth of material on the 2027 Care Strike.

In Germany, too, feminist organisations and networks are planning to organise a major care strike in 2027. The Swiss are a few steps ahead of us in this regard. This has the advantage that we can learn from their experiences. One opportunity we’d like to recommend to you is taking place on 13 July: the Feminist/Care Strike Working Group within the Care Revolution network has invited comrades from the Zurich Feminist Strike Collective to an online event. They will share their methods and experiences, with plenty of time for an exchange of ideas. Further information can be found in the ‘Events’ section: https://care-revolution.org/termine/unbezahlte-care-arbeit-feministisch-bestreiken